Main Meals

Once upon a time (2 years ago, almost to the day), I found myself toying with the idea of making a raw meal. I’d been daydreaming about it ever since I bought my very first raw ‘cookbook’ about 6 months earlier. The stunning photos in that book and the stories of increased vitality I’d read all over the net […] Read more…

Where’s the sun? Where is it? I’ve searched high and low but ohhh well, it seems I’ll have to wait a bit longer to feel the sand between my toes and the warm sea breeze… and until then there are always healthy Indian curries (and singing ‘Here comes the sun! na na na […] Read more…

Ooh yes, I’ve mentioned before how blessed I am to be in love with a man who can whip up an incredible risotto at a moment’s notice and I figured Vegan Mofo was the perfect time for him to show us what he’s got! Don’t believe the rumours. Risotto is not difficult or scary to […] Read more…

I do believe it was my gorgeous bloggy friend Lisa from The Raw Serenity who first told me about socca pizza crust when she commented on my Blue Moon Mexican Pizza many blue moons ago. I was so excited to read about it on Wiki, who knows why it took me so long to try it, but let’s […] Read more…

Oooh it’s been a bit tough at Vegan Sparkles HQ this week. Together with my gorgeous friends Emily from Olive on Blonde, Claire from This is Lifeblood and Tahnee from Eclectori, I’ve agreed to take up the ‘Dry July‘ challenge, which means – yep, you guessed it – no vino or bubbles for 3o days! *gulp* […] Read more…

It’s Friday, WHOOHOO!! We want a little something special to celebrate the start of the weekend, YAY! But we’re too pooped to make it, BOO! Before you reach for that take-away menu full of sodium (bloating!), MSG (headaches) and other nasties (yuck), how about a super fast, super delicious dinner that won’t push your […] Read more…

Oh my, what a big weekend that was! Winter Solstice! SuperMoon! Exclamation marks! I decided we needed to stop the madness and get grounded again with a big, hot-pot of Veg Chilli. Back when I was a newbie vegan and not very handy in the kitchen, one of my favourite mealtime tricks was to […] Read more…

I was quite shy when I was a girl, so I didn’t have many dates before my first serious and long-term relationship began, but it seemed whenever a cute boy asked if he could cook me dinner, he would make Apricot Chicken. It made me giggle, and believe that this was the only dish Mothers taught […] Read more…

Oh my beautiful friend Gnocchi, how I’ve missed you! Remember how much we crushed on this Spicy Tomato & Basil Gnocchi last winter? mmmmmmmmmmm… Soooo delicious and comforting – not to mention ready faster than you can say where’s my other fluffy slipper?! Gnocchi is usually a sure-fire hit with everyone. And just […] Read more…

It can be a bit tricky sometimes, food blogging. During a particularly lovely bout of daydreaming about exotic places last week, I had an idea – Laksa! I quickly researched traditional ingredients, brainstormed some changes, told my Lovebug to get his belly ready, skipped to the shops and back, and whipped up a pot […] Read more…

I love this time of year. I’m a summer girl through and through and I know that in a few weeks I’ll already be lamenting the cold, but for now I choose to enjoy my romantic notions and endless daydreams of fluffy jumpers, mugs of hot chocolate, lying in bed listening to the rain, and […] Read more…

I’m playing Pro-Blogger again this week. What better time than the week after Easter to take a break from the 9-5 to catch up on blog fixing (and sleeping)? If you’ve experienced issues connecting with this site over the past couple of weeks, please accept my sincerest apologies! It seems we’ve grown a little […] Read more…

Once upon a time I thought that tofu was nothing more than little white squares of tastelessness thrown into vegetable dishes just to bulk them up. Thankfully some very creative local fusion restaurants showed me the error of my ways and I came to learn how versatile it is. Throw on some fresh spices, […] Read more…

I’ve already learnt so much during my Institute for Integrative Nutrition studies I barely know where to begin, but as a former chocolate-and-Starburst addict I particularly liked the module on ‘deconstructing cravings’. Lesson from the Institute: sugar cravings can often be decreased by increasing your intake of sweet vegetables. Lesson from life: men need (what […] Read more…